“If we really mean to do this in two days, we can no’ go all the way,” Broden warned. “But aye, I can at least get them set on the road and pushed in the right direction.”
“Good enough. I just want to make sure they’re retreating safely and not into an ambush of any sort. Hendrix, you have strong ties with Senn, you’ll ask them for aid?”
“I will and arrange for transportation while I’m at it. How many boats do we need to ferry people up?”
“As many as they can spare. Let’s move out all we can. It’s going to get very harrying here in Estole for the next few weeks. The less burden we put on our supplies and wizards, the better.”
Broden knew good and well that the only truly ‘mobile’ group was Larek’s. He went directly there, catching the man’s attention. “Master Larek!”
Larek had been hovering over a cookfire, but immediately got to his feet and crossed to him. “Master Broden. How bad is it?”
“Bad, man, but we have a plan. Those of ye that can move be either going to Senn or Cloud’s Rest. We be emptying the city in order to make it a death trap in here for street fighting. Prince Hendrix plans to use that delay to go to Kremser and take the throne from his father.”
Rocking back on his heels, Larek took this news with slack-jawed surprise. “Truly? He thinks he can win?”
“Knows he can,” Broden corrected with a reassuring nod. “And feel free to spread that news about. But in the meantime, I need ye packed up and ready to move in two hours. Do no’ try to move all at once, send people across to Ganforth as soon as ye can.”
“Ganforth is safe, then?”
“Aye, the troops be long gone. It be a barren place now.” He hated to ask this, as Larek had enough to juggle as it was, but Broden could not really think of who else had the leadership ability and connections to do it. “Man, I be honest—I can no’ take ye to Cloud’s Rest. I be set to guard the king and prince to Kremser.”
Larek shrugged, not at all surprised. “I didn’t think you could. There’s a broad highway that leads directly to Cloud’s Rest, correct?”
“Aye.”
“Then I can’t get lost leading everyone there.” He gave Broden a cocky smile. “It’ll be fine. They know we’re coming?”
“We sent word ahead. They’ll be expecting ye, but do no’ expect them to be hospitable. Even with an alliance in place, they be no’ a welcoming sort.”
“Noted.” Larek stared out in the general direction of Cloud’s Rest, likely a thousand plans and logistics whirling in his mind. “How long do we have to get safely up there?”
“Two days.” Broden grimaced as Larek gave him a patented, is this man mad look. “I did no’ say ye had to arrive in Cloud’s Rest, mind, just that ye need to be safely away from here in two days.”
“For a moment, I thought you’d lost your mind.”
“If that were to happen, it would have been long before now,” Broden drawled. “Now, get people moving, and quick about it. I will try to meet ye on the other side. If no’ me, then find a guardsman, they can start forming people up.”
Larek gave him a vague salute of acknowledgement, turned, and started bellowing orders at people. Broden gave a glance skyward as he walked away. It was not even mid-morning yet. Assuming they could get the first wave of people over to Ganforth by noon, that still left six hours of daylight left to travel with. They needed to use it all to get people going. It would mean a cold, hard campsite for two days as they traveled, but they would make it.
For everyone else, it would belike be the work of two days to get them all sorted. But that was fortunately not Broden’s headache.
Hitting the main street, Broden went searching for Ashlynn, as they needed to coordinate now that they had people in motion. Just how far of an escort could they do before they had to turn back? Broden was not keen on going very far out, because if anything went wrong, it would delay Edvard and Hendrix leaving for Kremser. That was the highest priority, to his mind.
Rounding a corner at a dead run, Seth plowed right into him, sending them both sprawling. Broden hit the cobblestone street hard, although fortunately he was able to tuck his chin enough to avoid bashing his head against the stone. Gasping for breath, he stared up at the cold blue sky overhead and sent a prayer that whatever had made Seth spring about like a madman was not another emergency. “Seth, lad?”
“Sorry, sir,” Seth gasped, rolling to his feet. Being younger and more spry, he was recovering from the fall faster than Broden, and offered his boss a hand up.
Grasping it, Broden levered himself back up to his feet and winced as new bruises protested. “Lad, I be afraid to ask. What be wrong now?”
“No, sir,” Seth denied with a brilliant smile, “it’s finally right. Prince Hendrix just sent word that Overan mercenaries have shown up to aid Estole. They reported directly to him.”
Broden blinked at him, the words refusing to penetrate or make sense. “Come again, lad?”
“Truly, it just happened twenty minutes ago. A mercenary force of two thousand appeared, reported to Prince Hendrix, and then engaged in the battle. Can’t you hear them?”
Now that Broden was actively listening, he realized the sounds of battle had changed. It was indeed louder than before, more energetic instead of men battering at a magical wall. “Where did they come from?”
“They said they were hired to come to our aid by an anonymous benefactor.” Seth paused and, having inside information, lowered his voice to ask, “The same benefactor that sent the ships?”
Likely so. But they had no way of knowing. “Lad, mayhap after this madness is settled, we will get to find out. Belike now is no’ the time to be looking a gift horse in the mouth.” More urgent questions rose to the surface. “Has our plan changed, then?”
“No, Prince Hendrix said that while the reinforcements are very welcome, they’re still not enough to beat Iysh off with. He said keep the same time table and stick with the plan.”
Broden did not think it was the wrong decision. They were only barely a matching force for Iysh in terms of numbers, but Broden did not think of the two armies as equals. One of them was far better trained and armed, after all. He did not want Estole’s army to butt heads with Iysh if they could avoid it. “Then did ye come to tell me the news or help?”
“Yes,” Seth answered, nearly bouncing on his toes in excitement. “What do we do first?”
“Get these people out of danger, lad. That be our first priority.” The mystery of the very welcome mercenaries he could sort out later.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Colonel Rahimi, at your service.” Rahimi gave them a professional smile, marred from being polished by the scar leading up from the left corner of his mouth. He looked exactly like his profession personified: a hardened mercenary with years of experience. Faint white scars lined his dark skin, one even trailing up through the temple and into his hair. Broden counted the injuries he saw on the man, eyed the way he carried sword and dagger on his hip, and fervently hoped to never meet the man on the wrong side of a battlefield.
Edvard stepped forward and offered a hand. “Well met, Colonel. Very well met, indeed. I’m Edvard Knolton.”
The man was not an ounce surprised, which suggested he had very good intel before coming here. “King Edvard, it is my honor.”
“I’d love to sit and chat with you a moment, but circumstances being what they are…” Edvard trailed off with a grimace and a circular motion of his fingers that indicated the entire situation.
Truly, they did not have the time or luxury for any sort of conversation. Broden and Ashlynn stood in the doorway to the command tent, guarding and listening simultaneously. Dawn hovered, they had just escaped from around the barrier, and it literally had hours before it would fall entirely. They had managed at midnight to squirrel people away safely behind barriers. The last of their refugees had been shipped to Senn yesterday morning. The city, for all intents and purposes, was open for combat without the civ
ilians being in the way.
Now they were heading for Kremser with all possible speed, trusting on Hendrix’s connections to gather up more of an army as they traveled, and hoping it would be enough to take Kremser. From Zigzag’s intel about the lack of troops in the capital, it was possible, but only just.
“King Edvard, I’m fairly certain I can guess what it is you need to know. I wish I had answers. It was not I, but my superior, in contact with your benefactor. Only he knows the man’s identity and he’s sworn to secrecy until the war is won. He did tell me that when I learned who it is, I was likely to keel over in shock.” Rahimi shrugged, expression rueful. “I’m afraid I wasn’t able to weasel anything else out of him. He’s notoriously fond of pranks and surprises, you see. He wasn’t about to let an opportunity like this one slip by.”
“Just that is helpful,” Edvard assured him, although it was obvious that he wished he had had a more definite answer. “What else can you tell me?”
“We are on indefinite pay until this matter is resolved or we are ordered by you, King Tierone, or Prince Hendrix to retreat. I have orders to protect Estole, Dahl, and Ganforth at all costs. Prince Hendrix has given me a map with very precise markings to indicate where all of your citizens are holed up and I will make sure those locations are our priority.”
Broden let out a silent breath of gratitude and astonishment. Hiring a mercenary force of this size took a sizeable chunk of money, and he had no idea how long their benefactor had hired them for. That was the one question he had been brooding over for the past two days—how long did they have this mercenary army for? After all, they had no loyalty or cause in Estole. When the money ran out, they would leave. Hearing that they were funded for an extended time gave him the peace of mind he needed to go to Kremser.
Edvard’s eyes closed in a gesture of pure relief. “You bring me good news, sir. I thank you for it. Is there anything you need of me before I leave with Prince Hendrix?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, a few things. I need some way to stay in contact with King Tierone—I understand he’s staying here? To command your forces on the other side? Good, good—so that we can work together. I don’t want this situation to digress into an open brawl.”
Turning, Edvard requested, “Ashlynn?”
“Of course,” she assured him. “Colonel, if you’d give me something you wear? Something gold would be helpful. I have several callers on me, but they will only last a week at a time with constant use. Make sure to use them one at a time, to avoid draining all of them. Hopefully we’re back before you run out.”
The colonel thought for a moment before pulling off a signet ring on his right pinky finger. “Would this do?”
Taking it, she examined it for a long moment before nodding. “It will. Edvard, give me an hour.”
“I need an hour with him anyway. We need to come up with plans, and alternative plans, to defend the place while we’re away.” Edvard shooed her over to a table to work before drawing both Rahimi and Hendrix to the table where a map was dominating the surface. “Tell me what plan you’ve concocted. Let’s work out as much as we can before I go.”
Broden stayed planted in the doorway, in part to guard, in part because there was a brazier right next to him that kept him warm in the cold morning air. Most of the camp (both theirs and the enemy’s) was still asleep, although parts of it were moving. Broden had no idea until recently that armies actually fought from morning, after breakfast, until night like it was a regular work day. But of course they would have to, otherwise they did not have the stamina to fight day after day.
As he watched the camps come to life, he lent an ear to the three discussing strategy at the table. It was a different sort entirely than he had ken of. Mountain fighting and street fighting had very little in common. It was educational just listening to them.
Ashlynn came back to the table, laying out five different callers, all linked to different types of jewelry or statuary. The men paused so that she could instruct Rahimi: “Each of these has a holding spell on the magic until it’s picked up by you and used. So only use one at a time. Otherwise, even if you’re not actively using it, the magic will slowly drain away.”
“I understand, Wizard.” Rahimi picked the ring up first and put it back on. “My thanks. King Tierone has one as well?”
“He has several and a wizard of his own so you don’t need to worry about him.”
“Good to know. King Edvard, Prince Hendrix, I think we could stay and plan for another three days, but in truth, battle is too fluid to have precise plans. I have an idea of what you want me to do, and I’ll stick to it as I can, and adapt when I can’t.”
Hendrix clapped him on the shoulder. “Good man. That’s all I can ask. In that case, there’s no point in us standing here jawing. Edvard, let’s go. We have an army to gather and a battle to fight.”
In a flash of brilliance, Hendrix had sent out messages ahead of time via courier birds that he needed a militia force. It took three days for them to hit the first town on their southern route, and by that time a delegation lay in anticipation. Hendrix had barely lit upon the main street in town when the mayor bustled up to him. “Prince Hendrix!”
“Mayor Schwall,” Hendrix returned the greeting, sliding off his horse immediately and taking the man’s hand. “Did you get my message?”
“I did, Your Highness, and was frankly relieved to hear that you are ready to make your move.” Schwall was a small town politician, but still a politician, and offered a hand to the rest of the party. “I don’t believe I’ve made your acquaintance?”
Hendrix stopped and politely introduced everyone. “King Edvard Knolton of Estole, Wizard Ashlynn Fallbright and her partner Broden Ravenscroft. Of course you know my retainers, Avis and Fitzpatrick.”
“Indeed,” Schwall responded, completely overwhelmed.
Edvard grasped his hand and gave him the smile Broden recognized as the one he used for charming people. “Harmony find you, Mayor Schwall.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Schwall managed. “I feel quite honored to meet the man in person that started this whole revolution.”
“Believe me, that was not my original intent.” Edvard’s smile went lopsided. “The only thing I wanted to do was protect my family.”
Schwall relaxed into a returning smile. “By doing so, you protect all of our families. We thank you for all of your hard work. I received Prince Hendrix’s message yesterday and immediately put out the call. I am pleased to tell you that I have three hundred men that answered. They are ready to leave when you are.”
Broden was a little surprised by this. The town was not that big, barely more than Cloud’s Rest in population, and they could send out three hundred men? Remarkable. How fast did they have to work to prepare for the journey to Kremser?
“Mayor, we need to leave in the next hour, do you truly mean they are ready to leave when we are?” Hendrix pressed.
“I am. They have been on standby since this morning, as you indicated that you would be coming through on this day. I anticipated we would be, if not your first stop, one of your firsts. It seems I was correct.” Schwall clapped his hands together with immense satisfaction. “Some of our townspeople also put together supplies for you as we weren’t sure how well you would be able to prepare for this journey.”
They would be a welcome sight. Broden knew that not much had been packed, partially because they had had little time to prepare what with seeing to everyone else, partially because everyone was loathe to take any food away with them when Estole was so low on it. Especially with a siege likely underway by now, ships would not be able to enter.
Hendrix clapped the man on the shoulder, eyes bright with feeling and perhaps a trace of unshed tears. “You are true friends, Mayor. I can’t begin to express how glad I am for your support. We are very grateful for everything.”
“We are glad to support you,” Schwall assured him. “Be better to us than Zelman was, that’s all we ask in return.”
Hendrix snorted. “That’s a very low bar to pass. How about instead I promise to be as good to you as Edvard is to his people? That’s more of challenge and the leader that I would like to become.”
“Hendy,” Edvard drawled, “do stop, you’re making me blush and squirm over here.”
“We can all pat each other on the back later,” Ashlynn prompted impatiently. “For now, we need all speed. Mayor, you say that everyone is on standby and are ready to go now?”
“Indeed, Wizard Fallbright.”
“Then let’s go, man, we’re burning daylight.”
Trust Ashlynn to keep the momentum up. Broden thought it but did not dare say it.
The mayor sprang into action and sent out a general call to assemble. Men came from every possible direction and formed, loosely, into ranks in the main square. The way they did this suggested to Broden that they had done some sort of drill to prepare for this moment. Seeing such soothed his heart a little, as it meant that they were not volunteering without any thought or preparation.
It took a little over an hour by the time they made it back on the road. They visited two more towns before they had to stop for the night at the fourth. In those towns, they managed to gather just shy of nine hundred men, an incredible force for a day’s work and literally with two days of notice. The fourth town they stopped at for the night put them up in an inn, arranged for hospitality for everyone else in people’s homes and even a few businesses, and were perfectly agreeable hosts.
Broden sank into a seat in the main taproom of the inn, grateful to be sitting still for a while and to have a hot plate of food in front of him. “Gods and goddesses above, but this be an extraordinary day.”
Arrows of Revolution (Kingmakers Book 3) Page 27
